At the end of the summer, I had the chance to try out a wide variety of cheese from Sam’s Club. I will admit that I am pretty plain in the sense when it comes to cheese. I like Cheddar, American and Mozzarella on my Italian food, and that’s about it. When this opportunity came up, I was scared, yet excited to branch out to some new flavors and try out some new recipes.

Here’s what we received; a nice sample of each:

• Mario Batali Organic Parmigiano Reggiano – Parmigiano Reggiano is a hard Italian cheese made from cow’s milk; its origins date back to the 13th century. This cheese is aged for 22-24 months to three years, and has a compact grainy texture.
• Mario Batali Mountain Gorgonzola – Blue cheese that comes from Italy’s Lombardy region that is aged longer to make it more robust and firmer with an earthy flavor.
• Provolone Stravecchio – This cheese has a traditional flavor of Auricchio Stravecchio, which is produced according to an ancient recipe which requires a slow aging period of over a year.
• Asiago Fresco – Asiago Fresco is made from full-fat milk, specifically chosen from the high mountain and valley pastures of the Trentino region.
• Fromage D’Affinois –This French double-cream cheese is similar to brie in production, appearance and flavor; the difference being that before turning the milk into cheese, the milk undergoes a process called ultra filtration, which removes moisture from the pasteurized milk.
• Roquefort – Roquefort is one of the most famous blue-veined cheeses. Roquefort is made of sheep’s milk from a defined area and must be aged in particular caves in the south of France.
• Blue Stilton – Blue Stilton has an extraordinary flavor that is full, rich and creamy, and carefully aged to create its distinctive blue veins.
• Mario Batali Iberico – This cheese comes from cow, goat, and sheep’s milk; it is firm, tangy, hearty, and has an inedible black rind with an embossed basket-weave pattern.
• Parrano – Parrano is aged for five months, developing its nutty Parmesan flavor while maintaining the firm, smooth texture of Gouda.
• Maytag Blue – Maytag Blue cheese is produced by having each wheel made by hand, aging it in caves twice as long as most other blue cheeses.
• DaVinci Gouda –This full cream cheese is made from pure Dutch cow’s milk and filled with a subtle balance of tomatoes, olives and seasonings. A dash of garlic completes the masterpiece.
• Greek Isle Barrel Aged Greek Feta –The original Feta was a sheep’s milk cheese made in the Balkans. It is often made from a mixture of sheep’s and goat’s milk, or goat’s and cow’s milk.
• Kerrygold Butter – Kerrygold Butter comes from grass fed cows that in turn produce the sweetest, richest milk in the world.

I had NO idea that Sam’s Club offered this many cheeses! (I will have another post coming up with ideas for what you can use these cheeses for)

Sam’s Club will introduce these cheeses in select clubs over the next several months. We are happy to present these new cheeses as our members are excited for new food to experiment with at home, and see it as form of entertainment. The new cheese selection comes from some of the highest quality European brands and these family owned operations are thrilled to serve Sam’s Club members.

When I received them, my mind was going a million miles a minute trying to think of what I could come up with. My first dish that I made was Stuffed Bell Peppers. Hubby was beyond ecstatic when he saw that I had pulled out fresh Bell Peppers and started compiling all the ingredients.

When I cook, I like to change up recipes that may have been used in my house growing up, or I will take a recipe in my recipe book and tweak it up a bit. With this recipe, I thought I’d do something completely off based what I normally would do; I decided to try a whole new mixture for the stuffing… in a Crockpot!

Here’s my recipe. Again, I pulled a recipe that I had used years ago in my 20 year old self made cookbook with recipes I’ve been handed down and some of my own creations, and simmered it in the Crockpot – all day!

Since I am not a bell pepper fan, I made these for hubby and he said they were the best I’ve ever made! Again, this is my own recipe I made up and surprisingly it smelled good to me and hubby loved it!

Crockpot Stuffed Green Peppers with Asiago Fresco Cheese

• 4 large green peppers
• 1 pound ground hamburger meat (You can use whatever meat you like; turkey, ground, etc.)
• 1 package of Lipton Onion Soup Mix (You can also use fresh diced tomatoes – I used the soup mix because I have a toddler with a texture issue, but I still wanted to get that onion flavoring)
• 1 large can of tomato sauce; 16 ounces
• 2 jars of home canned tomatoes (you can use fresh or canned tomatoes or even just use tomato sauce)
• ¾ cup uncooked rice (I used brown rice, but you can use any uncooked rice)
• Fresh dried basil, about a teaspoon, sprinkled in mixture
• 1 cup of water, or more depending on cooking texture throughout the day of cooking
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce; more or less depending on your likings
• 1 cup Asiago Fresco Cheese (You can use any cheese you prefer)

Crockpot Directions:
Ground the meat, drain & put in Crockpot. Take all the ingredients, with the exception of the cheese, and put in the Crockpot. I started out with 16 ounces of tomato sauce & a cup of water, but added to the mixture throughout the day. I added a bit more rice than it usually calls for, but it turned out for a perfect serving to freeze for later.

Cook in the Crockpot all day; about 8 hours. This is a perfect recipe to toss in the Crockpot and go run errands. Stir occasionally and you can add more seasonings, water, sauce as needed and to your preference.

Just before you are ready to serve, take the four (or more if you made more stuffing) bell peppers, cut the stems off and scrape out any seeds/membranes & boil for 3-5 minutes, until the peppers are soft, but not soggy.

Take the peppers out of the boiling water, drain and dry any extra water out. This was funny… when I was cutting the peppers to boil, there was one that looked like another pepper was growing inside it.

Within the cooked stuffing mixture, I like to take some grated cheese and add half the cheese to the stuffing, stuff the peppers with the mixture and top with more grated cheese and sprinkle with basil.Looks good, doesn’t it?

Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees, or until heated thoroughly and cheese is melted.

What did it turn out like? See for yourself.I made one with cheddar and one with Asiago Fresco Cheese. Hubby said he loved the one with Asiago Fresco Cheese more than he thought, and more than the one with Cheddar!

When you have leftovers, what do you usually do? Put them in storage containers and before you know it – it is next week and you forgot about them and they go to waste… right? I will not deny that we have been guilty of that. I have been trying to freeze any leftovers or when I am cooking, to make a little extra and set some aside for hubby for lunches during the week at work. Foodsaver is here to help us save money in 2010, as well as to help us monitor our leftovers and stop tossing out good food!

Now more than ever it is important to start saving – save money, save time, save space and save your favorite foods. Introducing the innovative and easy to use FoodSaver Vacuum Sealing System with exclusive SmartSeal™ Technology – simply insert a FoodSaver® bag and the machine does the rest! Take all the guesswork out of vacuum sealing with automatic bag detection and hands-free operation. Plus, the attractive vertical design looks great on your counter, making it more convenient to save money every day.

I love this Foodsaver! Not only is it pretty to look at, but from the older Foodsaver that I remember mom having when I was growing up, this one stands up so it takes up less space on the counter or if you store it, but you wont want to store it. The one we have is Stainless Steel and is pretty as can be! It is sleek and gets a job done, fast!

I am on a mission for 2010 to make our buck stretch as much as we can and to utilize leftovers, along with freezing portions for easy reheat if I am not in the mood to cook. I did a video walk through to show you how easy it was for me to get started.

In my video, I froze leftover meatballs with just a little sauce in them.

Admit it. These are sleek, aren’t they?

Available in black, white and stainless steel at all major retailers and on www.FoodSaver.com

Keep food fresh up to 5 times longer and save up to $2,700 a year!
MSRP: $139-$169

All opinions in this posting are 100% my own.

What’s for lunch? I am tired of asking. I pulled some leftovers from the fridge and freezer and made hubby a meatball sandwich, well two.

For New Years’, I didn’t have all the ingredients to make the traditional Meatballs (Grape Jelly or some recipes call for Cranberry sauce), so I made up my own concoction. Mix and match to your tasting. I didn’t measure.

• 1 jar of Heinz Chili Sauce
• Country Bob’s All Purpose BBQ Sauce (I used a whole bottle, minus about a 1/4 that was previously used)
• Sprinkled with some Brown Sugar on top
• Put in crock pot with homemade or frozen meatballs
• Simmered in crock pot for about 3 hours

We had leftovers, so I froze them.

Today, I thought that making Meatball subs would be yummy, but it needed more of a ‘marinara’ taste, so I opened the freezer and had 1/4 jar of Ragu Pizza Sauce. I put a few meatballs in a small pot on the stove, put Ragu Pizza Sauce in and some sauce from the meatball mix that I made on New Years. Cooked until warm, toasted some wheat bread (both sides), put 1/2 American cheese on each slice, meatballs on top, some sauce, another 1/2 slice of American cheese & sprinkled with some Oregano. I ran out of Parmesan, but you can add. Toasted a little more and walah – Leftover Meatball Sandwich!

(Looks burnt, but it wasnt’t )

There was just a small amount of sauce leftover. I put it in a Rubbermaid container and froze in case we want to make a couple of sandwiches later on. The Country Bob’s, Heinz Chili Sauce, Brown Sugar and Ragu Pizza Sauce really made it have a real Italian marinara flavor.

Tonight I made Homemade Quesadillas for the kids. SO easy. So fast and SO cheap to make. I used mostly leftovers from the night before. How about a step by step with pictures?

I used corn tortillas that I had in the freezer, Crisco Canola Oil and Taco Seasoning. I didn’t use much since these were for the kids.

Put just a little oil in a pan, and fry tortilla (you can use flour if you want) until cooked to your likeness. I know. I know. I need new pots & pans. Like in a bad, desperate, crying way.

I freeze individual portions of cooked/ground hamburger meat. I seasoned a small amount.

We had Ranch Style beans the night before, so I blended leftovers in the Food Processor, then heated them in a pan. You can use pinto or any type of bean that you like.

Grate some cheese, put small amount of cheese, meat, beans & more cheese (to use as a ‘glue’ to hold the Corn tortillas together, then another tortilla on top. Put back in pan and heat until cheese is melted.

Cut & serve. Walah! Easy Peasy Quesadillas!

This weekend, I posted about how I was going to make a turkey with Kikkoman Soy Sauce. Well, I did it. Today. You tell me how it turned out.

Can you smell it? Oh. My. Gosh. This turkey turned out so yummy! The kids loved it, in fact Kambry is still in the kitchen eating her 3 plate of turkey.

I used an oven bag to cook the turkey in, but before I cooked it, I got the turkey ready, injected Kikkoman Soy Sauce in it, put some melted butter over it and basted some water & Kikkoman Soy Sauce over it. I baked the turkey at 350 degrees for 4 hours. My house smelled so good and of course, once it was done, I couldn’t help but sneak some bites.

We have so many more recipes to try with our family for Thanksgiving! For more recipes and information, check out http://kikkomanbrine.mktg.com/

This weekend, I posted about how I was going to make a turkey with Kikkoman Soy Sauce. Well, I did it. Today. You tell me how it turned out.

Can you smell it? Oh. My. Gosh. This turkey turned out so yummy! The kids loved it, in fact Kambry is still in the kitchen eating her 3 plate of turkey.

I used an oven bag to cook the turkey in, but before I cooked it, I got the turkey ready, injected Kikkoman Soy Sauce in it, put some melted butter over it and basted some water & Kikkoman Soy Sauce over it. I baked the turkey at 350 degrees for 4 hours. My house smelled so good and of course, once it was done, I couldn’t help but sneak some bites.

We have so many more recipes to try with our family for Thanksgiving! For more recipes and information, check out http://kikkomanbrine.mktg.com/

Guess what we are making tomorrow? I am so excited to make a turkey for my family! I know, it isn’t Thanksgiving just yet, but I was offered a yummy opportunity from Kikkoman to try some of their recipes to make my family a meal. It was about 14 years ago that I made my last turkey. What? We go to our family’s house for Thanksgiving, so we have never had to cook, but this year, we will have a small family Thanksgiving tomorrow. I will post details and our progress as we get our meal started!

Savory Turkey Brine
Ready to give your family’s Thanksgiving turkey tradition a makeover? Broaden your flavor profile and use Kikkoman Soy Sauce for a delicious Savory Turkey Brine. You’ll have the whole family wondering what you did to make the usually predictable turkey a tasty explosion in their mouths.

With Kikkoman’s Savory Turkey Brine, your turkey will stay moist while still bringing intense mouth-watering flavors to your Thanksgiving feast!

Why Soy? Umami for Everyone!
Not just a condiment for sushi or Chinese food, Kikkoman Soy Sauce is every home chef’s secret weapon in soups, stews, marinades, dressings and dipping sauces. Kikkoman Soy Sauce contains umami, the fifth primary flavor, described as the savory and delicious qualities found in many foods including meat, cheese and mushrooms.

Adding umami to your cooking means a more savory result with richer taste and a full-rounded flavor profile. Newly discovered in the science world, umami makes foods more delicious when balanced properly with the other four primary flavors known as sweet, salty, bitter and sour. Yum!

Coupon and Recipes
To get you started, Kikkoman is offering you a BUY ONE, GET ONE FREE coupon at http://kikkomanbrine.mktg.com/ as well as four great recipes that transform turkey “leftovers” into wonderful “right now” dishes to help you make it through the shopping madness of Black Friday and the marathon family time Saturday, Sunday and beyond!

Visit http://kikkomanbrine.mktg.com/ to transform your leftovers into delicious tasty dishes with recipes for:

• Quick Chinese Turkey Salad
• Terrific Turkey Tetrazzini
• Elegant Creamed Turkey
• Spanish Turkey Ole
• Turkey Fried Rice

I am so excited to try these new recipes! Check back tomorrow, as I will be posting our progress!

Chicken enchiladas sounded great, that is – until the corn tortillas refused to cooperate with me. They kept breaking, so i layered the corn tortillas like Lasagna, in a casserole dish.

I cooked 4 chicken breast in the Crock Pot all day with 1 can of mushroom soup & 1 full can of water. Cooked the chicken for about 6 hours.

In a medium saucepan, I put the cooked chicken in, with a can of Old El Paso enchilada sauce, shredded the chicken with a spoon and stirred together. You can add in veggies if you want.

The night before, I had cooked about 4 cups of pinto beans (I freeze in quart freezer jars to use for later times).

Using my Food Processor, I blended a small amount of the cooked beans. In another container, I shredded one 8 oz package of mild cheddar cheese.

Layering the corn tortillas, put in a casserole dish: 3 corn tortillas laid out, layer of refried/blended beans, layer of mixture of chicken with enchilada sauce, repeat as many layers as you want.

Top with cheese and enchilada sauce. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

My family had the opportunity to take a meal around the globe with Destination Dinners. We decided to venture to Tokyo, Japan. I am a nut for Japanese cuisine!

Destination Dinner bound for: TOKYO,JAPAN
Katsudon
Pork Cutlet & Egg Rice Bowl

Modern yet traditional, Katsudon, like Tokyo itself, is a perfect balance of the two. This dish was created in the mid 20th century to appeal to the soy based ‘wafu’ or Japanese style of food in a quick to fix and easy to eat format. The crispy pork cutlets are cooked with a savory broth and eggs then placed piping hot on a bowl of rice. Miso soup with wakame completes this dinner. This dish is a favorite among busy ‘salary men’ and students.

Serves 4 adults

Kit includes: white sticky rice, panko, mirin, soy sauce, dashi, flour, miso soup with wakame, preparation instructions, shopping list, table setting suggestions and Tea & Triva.

Fresh ingredients you will need: pork loin (or chicken breast or even extra firm tofu if you prefer), eggs or egg substitute, an onion and green onions for garnish.

I love this entire concept! I think this is a great gift idea for anyone that is looking for a ‘change’ with their menu. The one thing that I was sad at was the packaging for the bottles of sauce and the rice. My rice came in a broken container, so the rice was everywhere. There may need to be some padding in between the containers to prevent this. The packaging was simply beautiful, however! It arrived in a beautiful red box with our entire meal ready to cook!

The price is $25.00 for the kit and you add your own fresh ingredients (meat, eggs, greens, etc.). I used chicken and it was very tasty! The seasoning that is included it perfect and so tasty! I felt like we were at a Japanese restaurant, without the hefty bill of our family going out to eat.

I think this would be a great gift idea for just about any ocassion; wedding gift (you could present this with a nice Japanese dining set for the newleyweds), Christmas gift, or just because.

For more information, please visit www.destinationdinners.com

Just after Tucker was born in 2005, I really started to focus more on my weight and trying to become the person I really wanted to be. After having a baby, I was more than thrilled to be a mommy, but I really wanted my ‘body’ back. I wanted to be me, and not ‘just a mommy’.

I am really excited to say that Smart Ones has a whole new addition to add to their menu including some awesome pizzas. Oh, I am a sucker for pizzas!! You don’t have to sacrifice everything to get the taste you want, at the prices you like and the Weight Watcher Points that you can rely on to stay in tune on your every day point watching.

I just had the yummy pleasure of trying some of the new Smart Ones that were just launched this summer. My favorite, I have to say, is the Artisan Creations: Stone-Fired Crust Pepperoni pizza.

Zesty pepperoni with tangy tomato sauce topped with reduced fat mozzarella cheese on a stone-fired crust.

390 Calories
8 Weight Watcher Points

If you haven’t tried this pizza, then I recommend this for lunch! With Smart Ones being a part of Weight Watchers, you can clearly see the calories, grams of fat and point system right on the front of the box. No more pulling out the point calculator to see what your lunch will be; just stock up on Smart Ones, take to work and enjoy!

For more information and other tasty new products, please visit www.eatyourbest.com

Be on the lookout for more information about Smart Ones here on Mommy Goggles & on Mixin’ Kitchen.com!